Orientation

Finding northTrue north, not the compass

Everything in this guide refers to true north, the direction of the sun at midday. A compass points to magnetic north, which in the Canberra and Sydney region sits roughly 12° east of true north. Line a house up with a compass and it will be turned about 12° the wrong way. Survey plans show true north or grid north, and those two are usually within 2° of each other. Most phone compass apps can be switched to show true north.

It doesn't need to be exact. Living areas work well facing anywhere from about 15° west to 20° east of true north, and still get good winter sun up to about 25° east. A little east of north warms the house earlier in the morning. A little west of north catches more afternoon sun, which is welcome in July and unwelcome in January. In Canberra, I'd rather err to the east.

The sunWhere it actually is in Canberra

Three things follow from those numbers:

• In winter the sun stays in the north. It rises in the north-east, crosses low in the northern sky and sets in the north-west. North-facing glass gets sun all day, and south walls get none.
• In summer the sun is nearly overhead at noon, so a modest eave keeps it off north-facing glass. But it rises and sets well south of east and west. East and west walls take low sun that is hard to shade, and even south walls get sun early and late in the day.
• The west is the hardest exposure. Afternoon sun on west glass arrives when the air is already at its hottest.

The planWhich rooms get the sun

Give the north side to the rooms you use in daylight, and put everything else where it can help:

• Living, kitchen and dining: north. These rooms are used from breakfast to late evening, so they get the most from winter sun.
• Bedrooms: east or south, never west. East bedrooms get gentle morning light. South bedrooms stay cool for summer sleep, but need good insulation for winter. A west bedroom soaks up afternoon heat and gives it back at bedtime.
• Bathrooms, laundry, garage and storage: south or west. On the west they act as a buffer, taking the afternoon sun so the rooms behind them don't have to.
• Zones with doors. A door between the living and sleeping wings means you heat only the part of the house you're using.
• Outdoor living on the north, with care. A terrace outside the living room makes sense, but a solid roof over it will block the winter sun from the windows behind. Use a pergola with a deciduous vine, or an adjustable louvre roof.
• Home offices need steady daylight without glare. East or south light suits a screen better than a sunlit north window.

Your blockHow the site changes the answer

At noon in midwinter, a shadow in Canberra is about 1.6 times as long as whatever casts it. A 6 m-high wall on your northern neighbour throws a shadow nearly 10 m deep. That single fact explains most of what follows.

• Street to the south, backyard to the north. This is the easiest block to design for. Living areas and garden go at the back, facing north, where they're also private.
• Street to the north. The sun comes from the street side. Either the block is wide enough for a front entry beside north-facing living rooms, or the house sits further back to make room for a private north garden behind a screen or fence.
• Street to the east or west. North is a side boundary, so the neighbour's house sits right in the path of the winter sun. Keep living areas well back from that boundary, and make the most of the long north side if the block is wide enough.
• North-facing slope. The best site there is. Each level looks over the one below into the winter sun.
• South-facing slope. Shadows lengthen down the hill. Raising the living level or adding high north windows gets the sun back.
• Narrow block with tall neighbours. Bring the sun in from above or into the middle of the house, as described in the next section.

Difficult sitesWhen north isn't available

Many blocks, particularly in established suburbs, can't give every living room a clear northern outlook. There are still good options:

• A courtyard cut into the plan brings north sun into the middle of the house, past a neighbour's shadow.
• High north windows (clerestories) pick up sun over the roof next door.
• Less glass, better glass. Where winter sun is limited, large windows lose more heat than they gain. Smaller, higher-performance glazing, a well-sealed shell and lightweight construction let a house warm up quickly with modest heating.
• Cut or shade the west glass. Move glazing from the west to the north where possible. Otherwise, use external blinds, deep verandahs or planting on the west.

A well-designed house on a poorly oriented block can still perform well. It just has to work harder through its construction and less through its outlook.

The ratingWhat orientation is worth

In modelling under the older star bands, rotating the same house through the points of the compass changed its rating by almost two stars. Nothing else was altered. That's why a standard project-home plan doesn't perform the same on every block, and why mirroring or rotating a plan to suit the site is often the cheapest improvement there is. The "What do seven stars measure?" guide explains the rating itself.